An unbelievable shakeup in the Tour

I'm currently shocked, jaw-dropped, stunned and saddened to read which riders won't start this year's Tour because of Operacion Puerto, the Spanish-based drug and doping scandal that is currently rocking the cycling world. Am I surprised that high-level cyclists dope? No. Am I surprised that they're getting caught? No. Am I sad that they dope? Yes. Am I sad that they're getting caught? Yes, except selfishly to the extent that my Tour dream for this year of seeing Ivan Basso in the yellow jersey in Paris and Jan Ullrich scraping together whatever he could to try to win is now crushed. There are other great cyclists and the Tour will always be the best race ever but I can't hide my disappointment on so many levels. I am rocked.

Out with the old, in with the new

I've mentioned before Kevin's aversion to bare- or even socked-feet. When he first came home he'd scream without his shoes on so he even wore them to bed. We tried to get him to wear slippers but it took a lonnnnnng time for that to work out. Once it did, we created a slipper monster. It's hard to find replacement slippers during warm weather when you don't want to spend more than $10 (mail-order surely works but we were hoping not to go that route.) As you can see, the time came when it was necessary to suck it up and hand over the cash.

Kevin ceremoniously slam-dunked the old slippers in the trash after trying on and determining that he loves the new slippers he picked out.

Tomorrow the Tour teams will be presented

I have a scrapbook in which I create a page for each of our wedding anniversaries. It's fun because really only one picture of us, to see how time and living with each other damage us, is all that is necessary, so I get to really whack out on the creativity. (If you know me well, feel free to chuckle now.) Anyway, I did years 1 and 2 but haven't done any since then. This year's anniversary passed a couple of weeks ago amid a flurry of photographic activity because I was determined not to let another anniversary pass without a page in our anniversary album for it. At this point, we can't even remember what we did for our anniversary the past two years - neither of us can remember, and that's saying a lot for Mr. "I Remember The Date We First Did 'X' Activity Together" for every single activity we've ever done together. See how important a special anniversary scrapbook is? It'll help you remember all of those fancy dinners at restaurants you never otherwise visit. Or at least that's our life.

Anyway, this post is supposed to be about Le Tour, according to the title. So Andy was searching through my old blog posts to find out what we did the past two June 16ths. Alas, I mentioned it was our anniversary but said nothing else. He told me to get with the program and write what we did because he is getting old and can't remember much. Maybe he didn't say that.

In searching through previous summers' blog entries, Andy was heard to exclaim, "Sheesh, you really ARE obsessed with the Tour - every year!" My excuse is hey, it happens every year, how much more often do you want me to obsess??

Tomorrow is the presentation of the teams. It's the official start of the Tour although they don't ride until the Prologue on Sat, July 1st. It'll be a fun and crazy tour by my estimate. Not only is the winners podium pretty wide-open this year without Lance Armstrong, but there has been a way huge doping scandal that is ramping up in the press as more information leaks out before the case goes to court. If it goes to court during the Tour, who knows what might happen? If it stays only in the press, it will definitely get top billing among news of who attacked, who was dropped and who won each day.

My picks for this years podium? Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich and Floyd Landis. I was going to say that they're in no particular order but the more I think about it, the more I realize that's how I think it will shake out when everyone rides into Paris at the end of the show.

This year I will miss the Team Time Trial which provides some of the most spectacular bicycle racing viewing around and the photos the professionals take of the TTT are pure artistry in photography and subject matter.

Vive le Tour and may you all find yourselves inexplicably glued to the TV whenever you click by Outdoor Life Network's coverage of this year's 3-week ride across the plains, bridges and mountains of Europe.

The best bike race starts in THREE DAYS!

Tour de France Fans (and those of you who will soon see the light, no doubt), we have 3 days to prepare for the amazing 3-week spectacle! I hope you've got your DVR ready to record every precious minute of racing (if so, send me a copy because we don't have cable ;-)

I splurged $8 on the VeloNews Tour de France Official Guide yesterday. Andy said it didn't count as a splurge until he found out that I went to the bike shop specifically to get it instead of just finding it somewhere that I already was. Oh well, it's not like he's not reading it, too :-)

I was afraid that I'd not get any reading done of the 2 books I'm in the middle of (The Secret Message of Jesus and The Grail Bird) while poring over the VeloNews TdF guide, but when I went to bed last night I decided that it wouldn't help me sleep to read that because it would be too exciting. Andy agreed, mostly because he didn't want me to keep him awake talking about it.

THREE DAYS, people. That is all.

More pictures more of the time

Look out for changes ahead. Andy and I ordered a digital camera last night. *gasp*

We decided it was worth it to get a point-n-shoot type for now instead of waiting for years until digital SLRs drop in price enough. We'll see how well it works. If the pictures come out well (will probably print them at Snapfish) then I'm sure I'll carry the new camera around much more than the film camera we use, which is quite big and heavy.

Despite the valid warnings from our friend-in-the-know, we ordered a Canon A620. If we end up with the dreaded E18 error, Kirsten is free to laugh at us.

Father's Day Interview

Click here to read the 2005 interview.

June 2006

Is Papá tall or short? Tall
What color are Papá’s eyes? Black and white
What color is Papá’s hair? Black

What does Papá like to eat? Scrambled eggs
What does Papá love to eat? Watermelon
What does Papá like to drink? Milk. Does he like milk?
What does Papá take with him to drink every day? Soda

What is Papá’s favorite color? I don’t know, I need to ask him.

What does Papá do at work? He works!
What kind of work does Papá do at work? Puts books in a truck

What do you like to do with Papá? Play tumble on the old couch and with the pillows that we land on; you don’t want to use your shoes, you should wear slippers

Where do you like to go with Papá? To the zoo
What do you like to help Papá do at home? I like to help him make dinner
When Papá wears a yellow shirt, what do you like to wear? A yellow shirt

What does Papá do to make you laugh? He makes jokes
What does Papá do that is funny? Tumble with you

Is Papá a good singer? Yup, he’s a great singer
Is Papá a good dancer? Yup

How old is Papá? I don’t know - is he fourteen?

Does Papá love Kevin? Yup!
Does Kevin love Papá? Yes!

He's pretty cute

If I were his age, I'd totally have a crush on him.

Canning terminology

Andy: Do you put the paraffin in the lid?

Dianne: No, you put it right on the jelly.

Andy: How do you get the paraffin out - is there a string or a ripcord or something?

Note: Never fear, I don't use paraffin for canning, I use a hot water bath canner.

Weekly Roundup

Our hot water heater was supposed to be delivered to our local Sears store on Friday, June 2nd. It arrived yesterday. It will be installed on Friday morning, hopefully. We decided not to do it ourselves.

We went to the MOS Annual Conference this weekend at Rocky Gap State Park near Cumberland, MD. It was gorgeous out there with beautiful weather. Kevin was a champ on all of our field trips and the amount of compliments that we got about his behavior has made me consider a lot about him and our family with new perspectives. More on this maybe later.

I started a new work schedule this week - in the office Monday and Thursday plus a half day at home on Wednesday mornings. Kevin is in school all of that time, instead of being with a sitter for just the 2 days. This makes sure I can "easily" get my extra work hours in each week but it is a definite change and it will take some getting used to.

I picked 25 pounds of strawberries today. I plan to eat lots of them plain, freeze some in sugar syrup, make ice cream and make some jam. I've not canned jam before myself so that should be fun. I think that another friend will join me to learn as well. She's never canned anything before and at least I've done that part with other fruits and I've made freezer jam.

The House Finches in our front bushes should be hatching any day now. I keep expecting to hear the little buggers begging for food everytime I go outside. I guess they haven't hatched yet, but the parents are definitely still around (last year their nest was predated by a neighbhorhood cat and they didn't re-nest here.) Gray Catbirds nested in our front bushes, too, but were dumped on by a Brown-headed Cowbird so they packed up and moved to the bush closest to our front door (and right next to the House Finches' bush) and they have 4 eggs incubating. The catbird parents are highly visible and fun to watch.

Incredulous

Me: I emailed the group about... The only person who responded was Will.


Andy: Who?


Me: Will.


Andy: Will?


Me: Yes, Will.


Andy: Will.


Me: Yes.


Andy: Huh.

Future stars?

Just try to tell me I won't be bringing these out when they go to Kevin's senior prom together.

He's an introvert!

This week marks Kevin's last week with the babysitter that he's had since I went back to work (part-time) a few months after he came home. There he has had 1-on-2 attention with 1-on-1 when the babysitter's husband was home. The other boy is younger than him and pretty much worships the ground on which Kevin walks.

Next week, Kevin will go to his preschool/daycare when I'm at work as our babysitter is moving away. It is a good time to transition as he'll be going to preschool in the fall to prepare for kindergarten and by going through their summer program, he'll get used to working and playing with other kids, learning not to be distracted by everyone else, learning to listen to the teacher, learning how to stand in a line, etc.

Today was Kevin's practice day at the preschool. We were there for 4 hours during which time I tried not to interact with him at all except when we first arrived. He slowly warmed up a bit. He wasn't more or less shy than I expected, which was good.

On the (bike) ride home, he dozed off in the trailer and I was sure he was hot, thirsty and hungry (he had one piece of pizza and a juice box for lunch - obviously, I'll need to pack him some extra sustenance.) When we got home, he sat in a chair in the kitchen while I unpacked our stuff and decided what to make myself for lunch. I offered him lots of things but all he had was a sip of water, all the while lumped in his chair like a rag doll. I asked if he wanted to lay down and rest on his bed (ha ha) and he said - *gasp* - "Yes." Off he went to his room, he got up on the bed, took off his shoes AND socks (my friends, never have his feet seen the light of day) and got under the covers. He seemed ok so I left the room and about 5 minutes later, I heard him rustling around. I thought he was coming back out but when I peeked into his room, I saw him getting books off of his shelf. He took them back to the bed with him and he laid there, looking at books ALL BY HIMSELF for 30 minutes! Never did he come out of his room or even ask me to come in and read to him. He was in a SEPARATE ROOM ALL BY HIMSELF.

I was stunned. And happy. And relieved to know that he needed some alone time to refresh after a day of over-peopling. Now he knows how we feel when we say we need a break. Ok, so he doesn't really get it at all, but someday he'll realize that's what we're talking about - how good it feels to lay in bed with a pile of books all alone for a few minutes.

The Tour de France for Business-types

So, you hear/read me talk about the Tour de France every year and you're like, "Seriously, Dudette, that's enough - a bunch of tiny guys with shaved legs wearing lycra don't really float my boat, 'k?" And I'm all, "But you just don't get it! Here, let me explain. Vhcde asdlkfjlkj OIUP! Lsdiouaklj sfkloui sdflkj... ousdn werhadf lkj. Uer oafd wevf!"

If you're a business-type, your time has come to "get" the Tour de France. Fortune magazine has a fun article called "Pack Mentality" about the Tour which describes the race in business terms - "commodities exchange on wheels," "complex web of shifting alliances," "energy traders," "polyglot group," "high-rent district" and "the market needs liquidity" all while explaining classic Tour terms - peloton, patron, rouleurs, domestiques, grimpeurs and "urological faux-pas". That last item isn't a classic Tour term but it is used in the article and didn't it make you laugh when you read it?

Enjoy the article and I hope that it helps you feel more in-touch with the amazing artistry and endurance captured in the Tour de France (it's only 31 days away, you know.)

The Da Vinci Code

I read the book. I saw the movie. You can't wait for my review, right? Well, here it is, in somebody else's words.

The Da Vinci Code...is as well-crafted and engaging a movie as can be expected from its dense and sometimes convoluted source material. It's not great, but it's about as good as it can be.


-Jack Garner of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

I loved the book more than I expected to. I had moderate expectations for the film because I enjoyed the book so much but I knew that the style in which the story was doled out wouldn't work for a movie, especially one that needed a reasonable running time for showing in a movie theater. "Dense" is a mild word for the book, if you ask me. There's no way that can translate into a 2+/- hour movie. The detailed narratives in the book don't lend well to the screen, either - rare is the blockbuster film that employs a narrator as the main character.

After reading the book, I felt the urge to see the movie. Do I think it was worth it? Eh... maybe so.

Andy did not read the book so his opinion is important. As a movie alone, he enjoyed it. Granted, he can figure out what's going on in a movie no matter how quickly the clues are glossed over. If I'd not read the book beforehand, I would've been stymied by the movie. There were parts where I knew to watch for a clue to the action and I still missed it but when talking to Andy afterward, he was all like, "They spent a whole minute showing how that part was going to work out." Okay, then.

You can imagine the fun he has watching movies like "The Bourne Identity" and "The Thomas Crown Affair" with me.

If I wasn't a procrastinator...

...you'd also be reading a really cool post about how we should work toward both saving the environment and saving people from poverty at the same time rather than the two missions working against one another.

But I'm not sure when that will be coming and, if it does, how cool it will end up being.

"Meet the Neighbors" cookout, Take 1

We're really going to do it. I mean it. This year, we are going to have that neighborhood picnic that we've wanted to have since we moved in. Honestly, we've always been really excited to host a cookout out our house for everyone on our street, but the inviting stage has kept us from doing it. I know that in order to get a good turnout (not for our the sake of our egos but so that people can actually meet each other) people need to be personally invited. So I feel that I need to go door to door inviting everyone. Now, if someone isn't home, I'm ok with putting a note on their door because at least I tried. But I wouldn't see the point in planning the whole thing if nobody was going to show up and that's what I imagine will happen anyway but at least this way it won't be my fault for not properly inviting them.

I'm working on the flyer now but I still don't have a date. I'm sure you'll be hearing more about this as the plans move forward.

Collateral damage when replacing a sink faucet cartridge

Our kitchen sink has been dripping so we bought a new cartridge a few weeks ago to put in it. We only just did the replacement this weekend but at least it eventually got done. When Andy turned the hot water valve on under the sink after we were done, we had no hot water. The cold was fine and all of the water was fine elsewhere in the house so we determined that the valve wasn't working. When Andy replaced that yesterday (with no sweat connections!) all was well until we looked in the old valve and saw the plastic pieces inside that are inevitably from our hot water heater, which we've been meaning to replace for a few months now. Even if the heater went out entirely, I wonder how long we'd wait to get a new one. We have become even bigger procrastinators than we used to be, although I never thought that was possible.

Change? No, please don't make me!

I took my new bike for a ride today. I hitched up the trailer, put Kevin in with his snacks, drink, books and toys (wait a minute, who does he think is hauling all that extra weight??) and headed to the playground.

*cue Dorothy's neighbor/witch riding her bike theme song*

The ride was smooth thanks to the cushy seat and suspension seat post but I'm still not sure what the suspension fork is for when 110% of my weight is carried on the back of the bike and not an ounce is on the front. Anyway, I learned a few things:

• Sitting straight up on a bicycle with ones' feet directly below works nothing in the body except for the quadriceps - and maybe the glutes. I'm banking on some seriously buff legs by the end of the summer.


• A kickstand can be really handy (I know! I'm as embarassed as you are about the kickstand.)


• When turning one's body around on a bike without drop handlebars, one should not expect to continue traveling in a straight line if said body's hand pushes down on the handlebar to maintain balance.


• Seven-speed rear cogsets have a whopping tooth differential between the first and second cogs.


• Standing up on a bike with the handlebars nestled in one's abdomen provides surprisingly little positive leverage.

I believe I can get used to everything except for the seatpost falling, which happened twice today. That's a bit of a jolt. I also want to angle the brake levers farther down, just as my preference.

I am probably imagining this, but it seemed that more people smiled and waved back at me todaythan they used to when I'd ride by on my road bike. I am either intimidating in my bike shorts and fancy bike shoes or maybe just scary.

I'm a self-centered bike snob

This is my new bike that I just picked up from the bike shop tonight. I am very excited to have a new bike that should function better than my others with the trailer that I cart Kevin around in. However, I can't help but notice the low-end components, the reflectors and the external cable routing. But really, what can I expect when I own 2 righteous bikes already? There's no reason to buy another righteous bike, right? So I had nowhere to go but here - and hopefully "here" will take me even farther because right now, my riding is pretty much limited to trips to the playground and grocery store. But that's ok, because at least I'm not sitting at a desk everyday.

A Statement I Never Expected to Make

"Andy, I can't hear the movie; please stop talking."